192 SPORTING IN BOTH HEMISPHERES. 



expense, I dare not pass the night alone, for, in case of an 

 attack, I should have quite as much to fear from the gar- 

 rison as the besiegers; but how can I help it? I inhabit 

 Andalusia, and must conform to the customs of the country." 

 Beguiling the way with this kind of conversation, we 

 arrived, without accident, at the village of Santi Ponci, 

 where a small farmer, who had been advertised of our 

 arrival by the hidalgo, received us with every demonstration 

 of hospitality. The puchero was. immediately served up, that 

 invariable Spanish dish, a mixture of . beef, mutton, bacon, 

 poultry, sausages, turnips, cabbages, and dried peas ; after- 

 wards, as a luxurious addition, in honour of his distinguished 

 guests, some eggs fried in lard, a. water melon, some pome- 

 granates, and the inevitable gaspacho, a sort of salad, or cold 

 soup, composed of lettuces and bread swimming in vinegar 

 and water, and seasoned with garlic, onions, and chillies, and 

 which is considered in Andalusia an excellent and whole-, 

 some dish. Every sportsman divided his portion of this 

 plat with his dog, to prepare him for the fatigues of the 

 morrow, and the dogs, accustomed to this national dish, did 

 not omit even to lick the platter when offered to them; after 

 which, man and beast being in. a state of repletion, two mat- 

 tresses were spread upon the floor for the strangers, and the 

 other guests, seated on the hard benches, fell asleep with 

 their heads between their hands on the table. 

 . At the first break of day we were on foot. It was neces- 

 sary to take advantage of the morning, for shooting in the 

 middle of the day would have been next to impossible. 

 Deprived of the sea-breezes, which shed their .cooling influ- 

 ence over the coast, the environs of Seville are as sultry as 

 Ethiopia, and at this period of the year the heat was the 

 most intense. ; The thermometer each, day was above 90 

 in the shade, and all the public offices opened at four o'clock 

 in the morning, and shut at nine. People worked by night 



